Share this post

The NCAA released the dates for the first and second rounds of 2013 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship hosted by Texas A&M University at Reed Arena.

The Aggies will host games on Saturday, March 23rd and Monday, March 25th. Texas A&M was selected as one of 16 sites for the first and second rounds of the 2013 NCAA Tournament. A&M is one of just four institutions to host for the second straight year and is one of three Southeastern Conference schools that will host.

The four regional sites for 2013 are Norfolk, Virginia, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Spokane, Washington, and Trenton, New Jersey.

In 2012, Texas A&M made a school-record seventh straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, winning its first and second round games at home and advancing to the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in five years.

Bears, Forte agree to deal

The Chicago Bears have reached an agreement with running back Matt Forte on a four-year contract worth approximately $32 million.

Forte, who had the franchise tag placed on him by the team had until Monday to reach an agreement or would have been forced to play the season under a one-year deal worth $7.742 million once it was signed. It is unknown whether Forte would have elected to sit out the season instead, although he had long expressed his desire for a long-term extension.

Forte is coming off a 2011 season that saw him earn his first Pro Bowl selection, despite missing the Bears final four games with a sprained MCL. He had been leading the NFL in total yards from scrimmage at the time, finishing with 997 rushing yards and 490 receiving yards.

TCU Sells Out of Football Season Tickets

In preparation for its debut season in the Big 12 this fall, TCU has sold out of football season tickets with a new record-breaking total of 30,000.

It’s the third straight year the Horned Frogs have set a new mark for football season ticket-sales. Last year’s record of 22,500 was preceded by 19,143 in 2010.

“We are incredibly proud of the Horned Frog Nation,” TCU director of intercollegiate athletics Chris Del Conte said. “With the momentum in our program under head coach Gary Patterson, the new Amon G. Carter Stadium set to open this fall and the excitement throughout TCU, Fort Worth and the entire Metroplex with our Big 12 membership, this is an incredible time to be a Horned Frog.”

“We truly thank everyone for allowing us to achieve this milestone.”

TCU has sold out its last eight home games and 10 of the last 14. TCU opens the 2012 campaign September 8th with a home date versus Grambling State. The Horned Frogs first Big 12 home contest is October 6th vs. Iowa State.

Johnson adds Guerinoni, Scott to Horned Frog Staff

TCU men’s basketball head coach Trent Johnson named his first two additions to his coaching staff by hiring Donny Guerinoni and Brent Scott, who have been hired as assistant coaches.

Guerinoni and Scott join Johnson from LSU, where they spent four seasons as original members of his Tiger coaching staff. Both individuals also played for Johnson at different stops during his coaching career, Guerinoni (1999-01) at Nevada and Scott at Rice (1992-93).

“We are excited to be able to bring Donny and Brent here to TCU,” Johnson said. “Both men have been integral members of my coaching staff for the last several years, while I also had the opportunity to coach both during their college careers. Continuity and a sense of family will be important characteristics of our program at TCU.

Guerinoni owns a long association with Johnson dating back to his days as a Nevada player from 1999 through 2001, when he was the first to recruit to sign with John’s Wolf Pack program. He later followed Johnson to Stanford, serving as the Director of Basketball Operations from 2004 through 2006 before being elevated to an assistant coach for two seasons. He spent the last four seasons on Johnson’s LSU staff as an assistant coach from 2008 through 2012.

Scott, a longtime professional player who has spent the last five seasons in the college game as an assistant coach, served as an assistant under Johnson during each of the staff’s four years in LSU. Among his primary responsibilities on the Tiger staff included scouting, game preparation, recruiting and the skill development of the post players. Scott was a mentor to several of the Tigers top big men, including Thornton, Hamilton and former NBA center Chris Johnson.

Shannon, Miami settle pay dispute

Former Miami Hurricanes head football coach Randy Shannon will not be fighting his former employee in a courtroom.

The university settled a lawsuit filed by Shannon in late April over money he was denied after his firing. Financial terms of the settlement were not released, largely because Shannon’s contract with the school required him to keep such details confidential.

“Contract issues between the University of Miami and Randy Shannon have been fully, fairly and amicably resolved,” the university said in a statement. “We are grateful for Coach Shannon’s service as a player, assistant and head coach. Coach Shannon will always be a Miami Hurricane.”

Shannon was fired November 27, 2010 after going 28-22 in four seasons with the Hurricanes. Earlier that year, he and the school agreed on an extension that would have kept him under contract through January 2014.

In the lawsuit, Shannon said it was the university’s assertion that since he was fired less than one full year after that deal went into effect, the Hurricanes could reduce the amount of money he was guaranteed. Shannon said the school was only paying him about five-sixths of what he was owed in monthly installments, calling it an “amount overpaid.”

Shannon also said the school withheld a bonus that should have been paid because Miami was selected for the 2010 Sun Bowl. Shannon was fired before the team was selected to that game and did not coach in the matchup against Notre Dame, but claimed he was entitled to the bonus because the Hurricanes were bowl-eligible based on what they did under him during the regular season.

Shannon was a linebacker for Miami in the mid-1980s before going to the NFL. The Miami native was a starter on the team that won the 1987 national championship. Shannon was a graduate assistant when the Hurricanes won another title in 1991, then was defensive coordinator when Miami won its fifth and most recent national title in 2001. He spent a total of 21 years with the Hurricanes program.

SEC, members to donate id="mce_marker"00,000 to Summitt’s fund

The Southeastern Conference and its member schools are donating id="mce_marker"00,000 to the Pat Summitt Foundation Fund to help fight Alzheimer’s disease.

SEC Commissioner Mike Slive said that the former Tennessee Lady Vols basketball coach “is an integral part of the Southeastern Conference’s history and we will be forever grateful for her many contributions to this league and to college basketball.”

The Hall of Fame coach stepped down in April, eight months after revealing she had been diagnosed with early-onset dementia, Alzheimer’s type.

President Barack Obama presented Summitt with the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

Sliva, Taylor earn NJCAA Academic Honors

San Jacinto College baseball players Benjamin Sliva and Kirby Taylor have been named National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) athletes of distinction, the organization announced. Formerly the NJCAA Academic All-American honors, the NJCAA Academic Student-Athlete Awards recognize student-athletes for their success in the classroom.

Sliva, a sophomore pitcher from Katy Taylor High School posted a perfect 4.0 GPA to earn the Pinnacle Award for Academic Excellence. Taylor, a redshirt freshman infielder from Bellaire High School/Texas A&M University, posted a 3.77 GPA to earn Exemplary Academic Achievement.

Each year, the NJCAA awards student-athletes that meet requirements for individual academic honors. This year, nearly 60,000 student-athletes competed in the NJCAA on more than 3,500 teams in 28 different sports. More than 1,680 received academic honors.

Baylor University announced that it has received a major gift from Sheila and Walter Umphrey, BBA 59, JD 65, of Beaumont, Texas for Baylor Stadium, the university’s on-campus football stadium.

This generous gift- which ranks among the top 10 capital gifts in university history and top five gifts in Baylor Athletics history- will support construction of the Sheila and Walter Umphrey Bridge at Baylor Stadium that will be built over the Brazos River, connecting the new stadium with Baylor Law School and the Baylor campus.

This continues the strong forward momentum for the stadium project, the Umphrey’s gift follows two others announced naming rights gifts for Baylor Stadium. In March, Elizabeth and Drayton McLane Jr. provided a leadership gift that began the on-going fundraising effort to support construction of Baylor Stadium. On May 9th, John Eddie Williams gift named the field at Baylor Stadium, John Eddie Williams Field.

The new on-campus Baylor Stadium, which encompasses John Eddie Williams Field, is expected to be built on a 93-acre site on Interstate 35, one of the nation’s busiest highways, traversed by more than 42 million drivers annually. It will feature the Sheila and Walter Umphrey Bridge at Baylor Stadium crossing the Brazos River and connecting the stadium to the campus. The stadium will hold 45,000 spectators, with the flexibility to expand to 55,000 in the future, and feature canopy shading for half of all seats throughout the day, open concourses with views directly into the stadium, suites, loge boxes, indoor and outdoor club seating, designated seating for Baylor students and the Baylor band, and an event center and Stadium Club for year-round use.